>> pelley: tonight, the president tells his cabinet to get to work creating jobs. he will hit the road to listen to some of the millions of unemployed. doctor jon lapook reports a critical surge of chemotherapy drugs is leaving patients strambling for a life-saving alternative. america is counting on these men to get the u.s. out of afghanistan. seth doane asks, are the afghan police ready? and in tough times, our great american universities are cutting back. bill whitaker in california looks at what's happening to some of the best. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

>> pelley: good evening. on the day that president said he will redouble his efforts to create jobs, we're reporting from one of the nation's hot spots for unemployment. the jobless rate in california is nearly 12%, but when you add in those people who are forced to settle for part-time work, the number rises to 21.8%. more on that in just a moment. but first, the white house announce that president will go on a listening tour this month to hear people's concerns about unemployment. here's what he had to say today. >> how are we going to put people back to work? how are we going to wage their raises, increase their security? how are we going to make sure that they recover fully as families and as communities from the workforce recession we've had since the great depression? >> pelley: the dow stabilized today after eight days of losses. it's down more than 900 point from its high for the year, and

look at this-- people looking for refuge drove the price of gold today to an all-time high, $1,663 in the past six months, gold supmore than $300. anthony mason has more about what has investors so worried. >> reporter: scott, the market had to climb out of a 160-point hole to barely escape its ninth straight losing session. that would have been the longest losing streak since 1978. more than a trillion dollars in stock value has been wiped out in less than two weeks. it was another volatile day on wall street as veteran traders like ted weissenberg see increasing signs the economy is faltering. >> and so investors are simply saying,un what? i don't have a lot of confidence in what this country is doing, and economically, and i don't want the risk. >> reporter: the white house insists the economy is not in

danger of sliding backwards. >> we do not believe that there is a threat there of a double-dip recession. >> reporter: put butt in 401(k) plans over the past week, 96% of all trades, or more than $2 billion worth, have been out of stocks and into the safety of bonds. in new york, acutant mel laczar met with his financial planner but decided not to move his money. >> i'm upset, i'm distressed, but i really am praying it will be fine. >> reporter: but confidence is fragile, and ted weissenberg says it was badly damaged by the toxic debate over the debt ceiling. >> the process really sent such a negative message and made us look so weak as a country. >> reporter: the next major economic milepost will be friday's unemployment report. the economy created just 18,000 jobs in june, and most economists are expecting another weak number. scott. >> pelley: thanks, anthony. congress wasn't helping much

today on jobs. a political dispute has cut funding for the f.a.a., and nancy cordes reports that hundreds of construction projects have been grounded. >> come back, congress. >> reporter: transportation second ray lahood resorted to begging today as the partial shutdown of the f.a.a. moved into its 12th day. >> i'm calling them back. come back to washington. leave your vacations. just for a couple of hours. >> reporter: the stalemate over funding the f.a.a. has idled more than 200 airport construction projects putting at least 70,000 contract workers out of a job. >> this is a lose-lose-lose situation that can be easily solved if congress gets back into town and does its job. >> reporter: an additional 4,000 f.a.a. employees have also been furloughed, including boston engineer mike macdonald. >> there's a mortgage payment due. there are student lones that are due. there's a car payment that is due. there are grocery to be bought.

>> reporter: the main sticking point is it workers' rights. house republicans want to make it harder for airline employees to unionize, democrats don't. republicans are also trying to trim subsidies for rural airport service. >> i call upon speaker boehner to end this. >> reporter: democrats held one last irate press conference before leaving town. >> i hope the american people wake up. this is their modus operandi. government by crisis this they make up, government by00 taking. >> reporter: in oakland, california, construction of a new $31 million air traffic control tower has been put on hold, and so have the jobs of 60 workers, including electrician ashley davidson. >> don't know if i can make my rent. i don't know if i can make my car insurance. >> reporter: republicans say this can all be settled today if democrats just accept their bill, but democrats, who feel like they caved in the debt battle, are determined to stand their ground now. congress is gone until september, so it's unlikely that something can happen before

then. this does not affect safety, scott, because air traffic controllers are still at work, even though so many others are not. >> pelley: thanks, nancy. we think the most stunning picture of the day came from egypt where former president hosni mubarak went on trial. for three decades, he ruled with absolute authority. now, 83 years old, mubarak arrived in court frail and bedridden. elizabeth palmer is in cairo. >> reporter: egyptians were seeing it with their own eyes and still they hardly believed it. their once-untouchable president, hosni mubarak, came into court flat on his back on a gurney, then peered through the bars of a prisoner's cage next to his two sons and seven other fors on trial, too. mubarak is accused of corruption and the killing of protesters. "do you understand the charges," asked the judge. "yes," he said. "i plead not guilty."

mubarak was forced out of office on the 11th of february after millions of egyptians took to the streets. more than 800 were killed during the uprising by thugs alleged to be acting on bumark's orders. before the trial started today outside in the crushing heat, skirmishes broke out between pro positive and and anti-mubarak factions until riot police broke it up. then suddenly, overhead, the helicopter carrying the former president to court. his detractors chanted, "here comes the thief." his admirers reeled with grief." until the very last minute, people here did not believe this was going to happen. there was fighting, rock throwing, cheering. but the minute hosni mubarak was wheeled in and appeared in that cage on his bed, everybody turned to the television. they cannot take their eyes off this spectacle. and it was a spectacle.

all this was really a sideshow. the main point of today's session came through loud and clear-- a mighty arab strongman once backed by america has been brought to book by his own people. mubarak will be back in court on the 15th of august but no matter what happens now, the message has been sent around the arab world and there are, i think it's fair to say, some leaders in neighboring countries watching rather anxiously, scott. >> pelley: liz, i'm curious, does this trial do anything for political instability egypt? >> reporter: in the short term it might buy some time, perhaps, to start setting up elections for the fall, but if there's any hint that it's a whitewash, it could, in fact, set off a whole new round of unheaval. scott expwhrel thank you, liz. now to an important story that few people, other than cancer patients and their doctors, seem ton about. there is a critical shortage of

chemotherapy drugs in this country. nearly 200 drugs that cancer patients rely on to survive. dr. jon lapook introduces us to one woman who worries that she'll run out of time. >> reporter: 56-year-old marcia goodman has ovarian cancer. she was supposed to get chemotherapy today but her clinic just ran out of her medicine. >> i i was starting to feel hopeful this drug was going to work so my heart just sank. >> reporter: her oncology prescribes doxil, and sailed the drug had the best chance of control the cancer she's battled since 1998. >> you invest your hope and belief in the drug your doctor has chosen for you at the moment because, clearly, that's the one everybody thinks will help you. so if that drug is suddenly not available, it's like a train that's suddenly left the tracks -- you feel like you've crashed. >> reporter: doxil is just one of nearly 200 chemotherapy drugs in short supply, like can the sis, used to treat testicular, ovarian, and bladder cancers.

and paclitaxel, commonly usefor ovarian and breast cancers. many new cancer drugs are made by single manufacturers, so any disruption can result in shortages. >> we're going through an unprecedented period of extreme shortage of many key therapies to treat cancer. >> reporter: drug supply expert adam fein also blames hording. >> if there's a rumor of a drug shortage, every hospital and every doctor tries to get as much of that drug as they can. >> reporter: the company that makes doxil recently issued an alert of production delays and suggested new patients not begin treatment, but goodman had already started. she cannot believe a drug shortage could now threaten her life. >> well, chemotherapy keeps you alive. it's as simple as that. >> reporter: doctors i've spoken to are furious about the shortages. jansen, which makes doxil, expects supply for the 7,000 patients who take the drug to improve by the end of this month. >> pelley: thanks, jon. here in california, some of the

unemployed are work together to find jobs. going broke to go to college-- bill whitaker looks at how state universities aren't the bargain they used to be. and seth doane takes us along on what could be the most dangerous job in afghanistan. coming next.

>> pelley: we began the broadcast with the unemployment crisis. here in california more than two million people are out of work. that is the highest number of

any state. a lot of them have turned to unemployment clubs to help them find work, and today, we talked to four people who attend meetings of something called "experience unlimited," it helps but they have a long way to go. >> another day and no dollar. >> pelley: for these educated, highly skilled californians, looking for work is the hardest job they've ever had. >> how is everyone here doing on their job search? >> pelley: every week, they come to experience unlimited meetings to polish their resumes and computer skills. >> i'm volunteering. i'm helping people. >> reporter: jack walerius has been out of work nearly two years. in those 3:00 a.m. moments you ask yourself what? >> why can't i get a job? why aren't i being hired? >> i go to this web site a lot. >> pelley: teri smith, also two yearsinoid, just ran to the end of the max 99 weeks

unemployment benefits. what happens now? >> i'm sending resumes as admin support to roofing companies, plumbing companies-- i'm on craig's list and hopefully somebody will recognize my experience and skills. >> pelley: it occurs to me that it's not just about a paycheck, is it? >> no, no. >> not at all. it's about having affordable health care. because that goes away when you get laid off. >> pelley: but it's not just about pay and benefits, either. >> it's also about make a contribution and continuing to be engaged in the work world and with other people. >> pelley: ellen buyers' computer job was outsourced to romania in january. kathy frazier has been out of work for about 14 months. now that you have sharpened your interview skills and your resumes, what are you hearing when you apply for a job? >> that's the big problem-- we're not hearing anything. they have these systems where they scan your resume, and if you don't have the key words that they're looking for, it

just gets filed of trashed. >> and it's within the first third of the first page. >> pelley: computers are reviewing these resumes now? so you don't even get a human being to tell you no. >> no. >> no. >> pelley: how does it feel to be reject bide a computer? >> well, not good, but it's something that, you know, we have to deal with. >> pelley: all of you have college degrees or above. >> yes. >> yes. >> pelley: i wonder if you think that your age has anything to do with your not being hired at this point? >> i think ageism is alive and well. >> i was once told, "we're looking for somebody with younger and fresher ideas." and that was their way of saying, "you're too old." >> and that's why belonging to a club like experience unlimited is that you belong to something. you're helping other people. >> pelley: you need a reason to pout your suit. >> yes. >> pelley: every day. >> yes. >> it's empowering. >> pelley: empowering? >> it's self-esteem. >> you begin-- "why can't i get hired? i've never had this problem

before." >> pelley: it's been a long time for all of you. you optimistic? >> absolutely. >> oh, yeah. >> pelley: how can you be? >> i'll tell you how i can be-- i've made rejection my best friend. i don't know how many resumes it's going to take for me to land that full-time job. regardless of the number, every time i get a rejection, my attitude is i'm one closer to reaching the magic number. so you have to remain positive. >> pelley: unemployment in california has been over 11% for 26 months. training afghanistan's police could be the key to bringing u.s. troops home. we'll go along on a dangerous patrol mine was earned over the south pacific in 1943. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve

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[ coughing continues ] log on to lungusa.org and tell washington: don't weaken the clean air act. >> pelley: for afghanistan to become a stable nation, it's going to need a top-notch police officer. for nearly a decade, the u.s. military has been training afghan officers, and this year, american taxpayers will spend about a billion dollars on the program. seth doane went on patrol to kabul to find out if it is money well spent. >> reporter: heading out on patrol, the kabul police could face insurgents, i.e.d.s, even the taliban. "i'm afraid of suicide bombers," 22-year-old khan mohammed tells us. believe a police officer in afghanistan is one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet.

every day across this country, on average, five to 10 police officers die somewhere on the job. a top target is the police chief general salange. you're, in essence, in charge of policing all of this. he oversees the nearly 14,000 police in kabul. where do you rank the police today? "the 30 years of war here have caused a lot of damage," he tells us. "i accept that we do have some problems, but we're improving with every passing day." along with drug use and inadequate training, he admits illiteracy is still one of the biggest challenges, plaguing rowsm 80% of afghan police nationwide. in kabul, the chief encourages education, and even allows studying at checkpoints. but u.s. navy lieutenant commander kamyar pash-nehtala, who shadows the police chief, says there are more serious

problems. >> at the end of the day, general salange's job is the security and safety of the kabul people. so what would you spend your time thinking about, you know, did drug use go down half a percent this last quarter or did the number of suicide attacks go down? >> reporter: checking for explosives in the thousands of trucks entering kabul every day is nearly impossible without i high-tech tools, and even the equipment they do have doesn't always work. 23-year-old hosni mubarak points to his hun cairn ak-47. "the problem with this one," he tells us, "if i fire it once after firing, it's useless." >> reporter: these guys are soft targets. >> this is a dangerous place. for police to be effective they have to interact with the public. they can't be 10 meters away from their constituents. >> reporter: placing them on the front lines, ill equipped as

a civilian force and forced to fight in a war zone. seth doane, cbs news, kabul. >> pelley: students at california's state universities are struggling with the higher price of higher education. that story is next.

>> pelley: back now from california, home of some of the greatest universities in the nation. but at a time when a good education is more critical than ever, budget cuts are hitting state schools hard. and bill whitaker tells us students are paying the price. >> out of an extended family of 84 members, i am the first one to graduate high school and aattend a four-year college. >> reporter: southern californiaian eric pedroza was accepted at yale and columbia. he chose to story neuroscience here at u.c.l.a. >> private schools were confidential up on the of my league financially, especially for my parents. >> reporter: he works three jobs, got a scholarship, a for the pell grant, just enough to cover this year's tuition of $11,124. he's not sure about next year. >> it's frustrating. >> reporter: it's a frustration felt throughout california's public universities, 10 prestigious universal of california research campuses like u.c.l.a., and

berkeley, and the sprawling 23-campus cal state university system. together they serve more than 600,000 students. this year, they had their budgets cut a combined $1.3 billion. charles reed is chancellor of cal state. >> the california prison system is funded higher than both the university of california and the california state university taken together. now, that is outrageous. >> reporter: at least 24 other states have cut higher education funds this year, but none as deeply as california. >> we've had to raise tuition twice this year, and we've had to reduce our operating budget rather significantly. >> reporter: at u.c. riverside, a brand-new, state-of-the-art medical school sits empty. there's no money to run it. >> i'm now sitting here having hired the fax ult to be able to open the school and i don't have any students for them. >> reporter: med school dean richard olds says california's

public university system was emulated around the world. >> to see the finest public education system probably in the world disinvested in is really a huge tragedy. >> reporter: but california, like most states in this recession, is hemorrhaging red ink. legislators had to cut more than $26 billion to balance the budget. education, one of the largest budget items, took one of the biggest hits. eric pedroza says he'll take out loans or try to earn more money if he has to. >> i'm willing to do whatever it takes for me to graduate and have that u.c.l.a. diploma in my hands. >> reporter: he may have to. tuition at u.c.l.a. is going up $1,068 in the fall. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. >> pelley: and that's the cbs evening news. with thanks to our friends here at kcease, and kcal for their hospitality, i'm scott pelley in los angeles. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night.

captioning sponsored by cbs this is 9news now. good evening. tonight in your only local news at 7 p.m. we are in washington, d.c., where the man accused of jumping over the white house fence is speaking only with 9news now. we are in prince george's county with the mother of a man who drowned at a pool party is out searching for answers and montgomery county, police are investigating a murder slashsuicide /slash sue suicide. -- >> reporter: they are investigating a mother and son murder/suicide. >> reporter: it involves a doctor and her 13-year-old son benj